Overview

See Helsinki by land and sea on this 3-hour combination tour. Spend 1.5 hours exploring the Finnish capital's highlights and landmarks aboard a hop-on hop-off bus, which gives you the freedom to disembark and look around at your leisure. Then, get a different perspective aboard a cruise that skirts the shoreline and gives views of the city skyline. Audio commentary provided on both portions of the tour.

What To Expect

Hop-On Hop-Off Bus TourBegin your tour of Helsinki in Senate Square, where you'll exchange your voucher for a ride aboard the hop-on hop-off bus. The bus runs between 10am and 4pm; your departure time is up to you and your ticket is valid for 24 hours.

Plug in your audio guide for commentary in 10 different languages as you drive past the most important sites in the Finnish capital. The route includes 15 stops, and you may disembark to explore any of them at your leisure. Explore landmarks such as the Olympic Stadioum, the National Museum, the Sibelius Monument, and Temppeliaukio Church, among others.

Canal Route Sightseeing Tour By BoatThe cruise departs from Helsinki Market Square, and you can choose your departure time according to your schedule. Cruise down Helsinki's shoreline, listening to the audio guide's commentary about sights such as the UNESCO-listed Suomenlinna Maritime Fortress, the Helsinki Zoo, and the Degerö Canal. An on-board cafe offers snacks and drinks for purchase. Your tour concludes when you step foot back on dry land 1.5 hours later.

Don't bother with the Hop-On Hop-Off Bus and Boat Combination Tour --- the boat ride was too long, very challenging to find the stops as the position of the stop on the map doesn't match up with where the stop actually is. Plus,the signage is difficult to see. Questionable whether the buses actually came every 30 minutes but saw several of the competition's buses go by while we were waiting. Had to listen to loud argument between scheduler and bus driver regarding driver's schedule at Stop 1, which made us almost late getting back to the ship.

I loved our day in Helsinki, just was unaware of the length of time for the bus and boat to get round. I will review more thoroughly another time. We never had any time to do anything besides Market square, if we wanted to get back to the ship on time.
Next time I would just take the bus since the boat does not actually make any stops, tho it was a pretty ride.